利令智昏

lìlìng-zhìhūn

idiom

Meanings

1 blinded by greed
2 profit clouds judgment
3 to lose one's head over gain

Characters

wisdom, judgment

Examples

HSK 4

投资要冷静，不能利令智昏。

Tóuzī yào lěngjìng, bùnéng lìlìng-zhìhūn.

Investing requires a cool head - you can't let greed blind you.

HSK 5

他利令智昏，做出了违法的事。

Tā lìlìng-zhìhūn, zuòchū le wéifǎ de shì.

Blinded by greed, he did something illegal.

HSK 7-9

许多贪官都是利令智昏而断送前程。

Xǔduō tānguān dōu shì lìlìng-zhìhūn ér duànsòng qiánchéng.

Many corrupt officials ruined their careers by letting greed cloud their judgment.

Tips

history

From 《史记·平原君虞卿列传》. Sima Qian used it to fault Lord Pingyuan of Zhao, whose greed for the territory of Shangdang led to the catastrophic defeat at Changping, in which over 400,000 Zhao soldiers were killed.

Stroke Order

利 lì

令 lìng

智 zhì

昏 hūn